Don’t Take Delight In Others Misery

I used to subscribe to the news feed for Business Insider. I always felt that they had a good staff of writers from multiple sources that gave a good feed for the economy, business, and money related issues. I referenced them here on Money Beagle more than a few times.

But, I recently unsubscribed and will no longer be reading, because of a pattern that I felt was too common and too disturbing:

Too many of their writers are taking glee in the recent rash of economic news, most notably the European debt crisis, the stock market downturn, and the potential for a second recession.

These are all very real problems, and I’m not suggesting for a second that they should be reporting false information or even suppressing information. That would be disingenuous.

Where I have a problem is when their authors consistently include things along the lines of:
“Markets down 200. SELL SELL SELL.”
“Technical support broken, time to PANIC.”

The bottom line is that the vast majority of Americans are losing market in this stock market. Many of us have done the right thing and have opened IRA accounts, 401(k) accounts, or other accounts to save for the future. Watching those balances go down day in and day out is bad enough, but it’s a kick in the face for writers to take glee in this.

The Internet has opened the door for many more voices to be heard. In the case of Business Insider, that’s proving that it may not always be such a good thing.

So, for those of you who write in a public manner, I implore you, even if you’re right about something, please don’t rub it in. There’s no call for taking delight in someone’s misery.

4 thoughts on “Don’t Take Delight In Others Misery”

I looked at our investment accounts (retirement and not) yesterday, and in the last two months we've lost $5,000+! Still, I'm not worried because it is money we do not need for a long, long time.

I see it as buying stocks on sale at this point, and will continue to purchase.

Whenever I hear in the news about someone close to retirement who is wiped out, or people who can't find work (must be incredibly frustrating, and I've been laid off twice in my life so I have some experience with this), my heart really goes out to them.

I couldn't agree more. They're the Shock and Awe of headline grabbers. Selling controversy for clicks even when there isn't any. It only exacerbates fear when a level head is whats really needed right now.